Made of white marble and crowned by a gilded onion dome, the Gurudwara Bangla Sahib and shimmering pool inside it are places of great sanctity for Indian Sikhs, and offer the most atmospheric introduction possible to the capital. The complex in its present form dates from the late-18^th century and was constructed at a place associated with the eighth Sikh Guru, Har Krishnan. At a Langar, or ‘canteen’, in the temple, visitors and devotees are fed nourishing, free meals of chapatis and black dal by volunteers. If you’re lucky, you may see groups of Akalis, members of a Sikh warrior sect, dressed in traditional ceremonial garb.

The narrow lanes of Old Delhi once formed the hub of the Mughal capital, formerly known as ‘Shajahanabad’ after the great Emperor Shah Jahan. Individual streets are given over to different trades in this atmospheric district and before setting off your guide will quiz you on your interests in order choose the sights most likely to inspire, whether street-food hot spots, crafts workshops or hidden architectural gems. Whatever your chosen itinerary, an obligatory stop should be the splendid Jama Masjid mosque, whose giant white domes dominate the skyline of the old city.

Humayun’s Tomb, one of the India’s greatest early Mughal buildings, stands in manicured gardens a little further south and may be visited en route to the iconic Qutb Minar victory tower on Delhi’s southern outskirts, the day’s final stop.

A recommended option for lunch would be the famous Olive Bar and Kitchen, an ultra-stylish restaurant housed in a converted haveli (courtyard mansion) which consistently wins awards for its fine, Mediterranean-inspired cuisine.

As an alternative to the Islamic tombs of South Delhi, you may prefer to spend time in the afternoon shopping in Hauz Khas village. Clustered around a collection of medieval madrasas, mosques and a large water tank, the neighbourhood’s winding lanes are crammed with galleries and boutiques. Towering flame and laburnum trees filter the sun and there are plenty of cool cafés to relax in.

Shah Jahan, the emperor who created of the Taj Mahal, was imprisoned towards the end of his life by his son, Aurangzeb, in the gilded splendour of the Mughals’ great fortress-palace overlooking the Yamuna River – your first sightseeing stop of the day. Through its finely carved pillars and cusp-arched windows you’ll be able to savour the same romantic views as the ailing ruler enjoyed of the Taj, which you’ll visit towards the end of the afternoon, when the changing light transforms the marble surfaces from a pale ochre to orange and crimson.

Afterwards, return to your hotel for a Mughal-themed supper, featuring dishes that would be been served in the courts of the great emperors.

Agra’s beautiful Jama Masjid stands in the heart of the old city, neglected among a chaos of railway overbridges and cluttered bazaars. Foreign visitors are a rarity, yet the building, which is adorned with geometric designs of marble-inlaid sandstone, numbers among the most elegant and exotic in the country. More splendid still is the tomb of Mughal Emperor Akbar, on the northern outskirts of the city at Sikandra, which presides over 119 hectares of leafy, green parkland, where langur monkeys and black-buck antelope roam wild, like scenes from a Mughal miniature painting.

En route back to your hotel after sunset, pause with your guide at Sadar Bazaar, a lively street market specializing in leather goods and tourist souvenirs, as well as the favourite local sweet, ‘petha’ – a type of candy made from white pumpkin.

First stop on the fifth day of your tour is the once splendid palace complex built at lavish expense at end of the 16^th century to accommodate the Mughal emperor and his court. The finely carved, dark-red sandstone buildings were only inhabited for sixteen years and remain in superb condition, vividly evoking the opulence of the Mughal era. During his sojourn here, Akbar gathered together the finest artists, poets, calligraphers, musicians and dancers in the land, as well as representatives of its major faiths, whom he engaged in philosophical debates. Among many architectural highlights are the Diwan-i-Khas audience hall, with its ornately carved throne pillar, the beautiful white marble Tomb of Sheikh Salim Chishti (a revered Sufi mystic) and imposing Buland Darwaza gateway.

Just off the main Agra–Jaipur highway, the magnificent stepwell at Abhaneri is your second stop of the day. Comprising 3,500 carved steps spread over thirteen storeys, the well is the deepest and most intricate of its kind in India.

Most clients prefer to spend the rest of the day relaxing by their hotel pool on arrival in Jaipur, but when suitably refreshed we recommend an acclimatizing visit to city’s atmospheric market area or a drive up to Nahargarh Fort – one of India’s finest sunset viewpoints.

Perched on the rim of a dramatic escarpment, Amber Fort retains some of the finest interiors surviving from the 16^th and 17^th centuries in India, notably a glittering Hall of Mirrors lined with intricate mosaics, where the Maharaja and his consorts would enjoy music and poetry recitals.

Jaipur offers some of the best shopping in India and you may wish to include a guided tour of its top textile showrooms, fashion boutiques and jewellery shops in your afternoon’s programme. We particularly recommend Anokhi’s flagship Prithviraj Road store, which specializes in traditional, block-printed Rajasthani textiles, which Anokhi’s designers transform into gorgeous garments. If inclined your guide will also be able to suggest private jewellers & emporia where you could commission handcrafted custom pieces in silver or platinum using top of the range stones – from lapis lazuli and amber to emeralds, rubies, sapphires, aquamarine and diamonds – for delivery overnight while you enjoy Jaipur.

We always recommend starting our popular walking tour of the Pink City at first light, with a visit to a typical Jaipuri tea shop for chai and hot ‘jalebis’. Then follow your guide to see gem cutters, jewellers, perfumiers, flower vendors and sweet makers beginning their day, pausing at a local Hindu shrine or two along the way (there are an estimated 2,000 temples crammed into the Pink City).

Jaipur’s City Palace provides the focus for the rest of the morning. Royal treasures are display in its sumptuously colonnaded halls. You’ll also be shown a huge open-air observatory, the Jantar Mantar, and ‘Hawa Mahal’ (‘Palace of Winds’), a five-storey façade of elaborately screened windows from where the women of the royal household used to watch processions in the streets below.

For the afternoon, consider an optional trip to Dera Amer, outside the city, for a walk in the countryside with a pair of rescue elephants, Laxmi and Rangmala.

With its awe-inspiring fort and labyrinthine, blue-painted old city, Jodhpur is one of the great highlights of this region. You’ll arrive in time to freshen up and sample its unique atmosphere before supper, with a walk around the main market area, Sadar Bazaar, and clock tower square, Ganta Ghar.

Photographers may wish to make the short detour up to the white-marble cenotaph next to Mehrangarh Fort shortly after breakfast, when the great fortress is bathed in warm morning light. We generally allow at least a couple of hours to tour the palace, museum and temples, and to soak up the amazing views over the old city from the ramparts.

The afternoon will entail a change of pace, as you swap the jumble of blue houses, havelis and temples of Jodhpur for the dunes of the Thar Desert. An hour’s drive out of the city is a specially created camp from where you can trek into surrounding sands on camel back. Afterwards, enjoy a sundowner around a blazing bonfire, seated on campaign chairs wrapped in warm blankets, as the stars appear in the opalescent desert sky. A BBQ dinner will be accompanied by performances by a troupe of Rajasthani folk musicians and dancers.

The first half of the journey from Jodhpur to Udaipur takes you across a vast, dusty plain studded with giant boulder hills and old-fashioned market towns. In the west, the shadowy wall of the Aravalli Mountains gradually grows more distinct. Before climbing into the range, you’ll pause at Ranakpur to visit a cluster of richly sculpted Jain temples. From there the road ascends steeply then follows an undulating course through a rural hinterland inhabited mostly by Bhil farmers.

On arrival at the side of Lake Fateh Sagar, at the foot of the great City Palace, you’ll be transferred to a launch for the short trip across the water to your hotel. Having checked in, you’ll probably be reluctant to tear yourself away from the sublime views and serene ambience of the Lake Palace, but sunset cruises are on offer should you wish to explore.

Udaipur’s City Palace, seat of the Sisodia Dynasty, holds a feast of Rajput architecture and yields magnificent views over Pichola Lake to the Aravallis. After visiting its museums, apartments and courtyard gardens, wander down to the Jagdish Temple nearby before heading into the old city to explore the markets in the company of your TransIndus guide. Late afternoon is the time to be at the water’s edge, soaking up the sunset colours and unique atmosphere of this romantic city.

Bombay, or ‘Mumbai’ as it’s officially called these days, has been India’s busiest port and industrial centre since the opening of the Suez Canal in 1969. As famous for its traffic jams as record-breaking movie industry, the Maharashtran capital is above all a place to gain a flavour of modern India.

Stroll across the piazza in front of the Gateway of India first thing after breakfast to catch a launch across Bombay Harbour to Elephanta Island. Hollowed from a hill of brown-black basalt 13 centuries ago, the pillared shrines contain a series of awesome bas reliefs, the most iconic of them the three-headed ‘Trimurti’, representing the three aspects of the God Shiva.

After lunch, visit the Prince of Wales Museum and join a heritage walking tour of the Fort and Kalagodha in the afternoon. The districts hold the most splendid colonial-era landmarks in the city, dating from the era when British India was the world’s main exporter of cotton. Join a local expert for a history-focussed tour ticking off all the big buildings, including the GPO and VT Station, with a stop at the time-warp Yazdani Bakery for chai and traditional Parsi biscuits!